Finding Freedom

Finding Freedom - Part 2 Chapter 10

Chapter 10

            They hadn’t seen us. The noise of the rain on the roof had muffled the creaking of the door. I froze in place, only one thing occupying my mind: I could not let them see me. They were alone together. Talking. Me being there would ruin the perfect atmosphere.

            I started backing up towards the barn door. The prospect of going back outside made me shiver, but if these two could finally realize their feelings I didn’t mind braving the weather.

            Out of the corner of my eye I saw David move forward to call out to them but I covered his mouth and pulled him down before he could utter a sound. That earned me an annoyed look.

            “Why are we hiding?” he asked in a whisper.

            I rolled my eyes. “Can’t you feel the aura around them?”

            He threw me a skeptical look. “Aura?”

            I sighed. “If we leave them alone for a bit longer, I can almost guarantee that we’ll never have to deal with their awkward blushing again.”

            His face lit up and he chanced a glance over the low wall we were hiding behind. After a moment of thought, he bent back down and asked “What do you want us to do?”

            “We hide out here until the rain stops, then we leave without them noticing,” I said, hanging the wet picnic cloth I was holding over a ledge.

            As soon as I was done talking, David shook his head. “And what if they do notice? It’s too risky to stay here.”

            I frowned, but knew he was right. My legs were already sore from crouching. I looked back at the barn door and grimaced.

            “Would you rather be found out?”

            His whisper made my heart race. I hadn’t felt him get so close to my ear. I felt a warm grip take hold of my hand and pull me through the door. I followed, running through the pelting rain. Needless to say we were both soaked through when we arrived at the Robins’ house.

            We explained that we had set off before the rain started, and it had caught us half-way to the house. We had not crossed Dean and Kyra, though they had also set off to find us a bit before the rain.

            At long last the deluge stopped, and Kyra and Dean came back when they saw that David and me weren’t at the waterfall. We emptied the basket and ate the food, and spent the rest of the day inside. I often glimpsed Kyra and Dean throw each other quick looks, like they both shared a secret. I grinned internally, as I was sure I knew what it was. I did not ask them about it. If they wanted to keep it a secret, then so be it.

            Dark came, and the men left, leaving only Martha, Yvonne, Kyra and me in the house. Martha was sifting through the picnic basket, as if looking for something.

            “Where is the cloth that was in here?” she asked.

            My mind raced. Wasn’t the cloth in the basket? I searched through my memories to find out where I could have forgotten it. It had been taken out of the basket and placed on the stone floor of the cave, under the picnic utensils. I clearly remember having carried it out of the cave into the rain because it no longer fit in the basket. Then we got to the barn, and I hung it—It must still be in the barn!

            “We must have forgotten it behind the waterfall,” I said. “I can go get it now.”

            I stepped towards the door, but Kyra stopped me. “Why go now? It is dark outside. I am sure the cloth will be fine if it stays there overnight.”